Violations of Personal Space by Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

The ability to maintain an appropriate physical distance (i.e., interpersonal distance) from others is a critical aspect of social interaction and contributes importantly to real-life social functioning. In Study 1, using parent-report data that had been acquired on a large number of individuals (ages 4–18 years) for the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange and the Simons Simplex Collection, we found that those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD; n = 766) more often violated the space of others compared to their unaffected siblings (n = 766). This abnormality held equally across ASD diagnostic categories, and correlated with clinical measures of communication and social functioning. In Study 2, laboratory experiments in a sample of high-functioning adults with ASD demonstrated an altered relationship between interpersonal distance and personal space, and documented a complete absence of personal space in 3 individuals with ASD. Furthermore, anecdotal self-report from several participants confirmed that violations of social distancing conventions continue to occur in real-world interactions through adulthood. We suggest that atypical social distancing behavior offers a practical and sensitive measure of social dysfunction in ASD, and one whose psychological and neurological substrates should be further investigated.

Personal Space Regulation in Williams Syndrome: The Effect of Familiarity

“…In stark contrast to the findings of Gessaroli and colleagues (2013), Kennedy and Adolphs (2014) found that individuals with ASD were more likely to be reported by parents to violate the personal space of others. Indeed, 79% of parents report that their children with ASD have smaller personal space boundaries compared to their TD siblings.…”

“…There are several items relating to personal space that have been examined in the work of Kennedy and Adolphs (2014) and Lough and colleagues (2015a) and are therefore of interest to the current study. They examined item 55 which asks parents to rate the following statement: "knows when he or she is too close to someone or is invading someone's space".…”

“…Other items also examined by both Kennedy and Adolphs (2014) and Lough et al, (2015a) refer to multi-modal construct of personal space, including item 52 ("Knows when he or she is talking too loud or making too much noise), item 56 ("Walks in between two people who are talking") and item 63 ("Touches others in an unusual way e.g. he or she may touch someone just to make contact with them then walk away without saying anything").…”

“…Further, whilst TD children were able to regulate their personal space based on the familiarity of the person they were interacting with, children with ASD failed to do so, suggesting that they lack flexibility in personal space regulation. Kennedy and Adolphs (2014) also examined the issue of personal space in young people with ASD. They used the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS; Constantinno & Gruber, 2005), which is a 65 item parent report questionnaire designed to measure the typicality/atypicality of social functioning.…”

“…As individuals with WS show indiscriminate approach behaviour (Little et al, 2013), and a lack of stranger danger awareness (Riby et al, 2013), their personal space regulation when interacting with others is an important facet when looking at their social vulnerability profile (Jawaid et al, 2012;Lough et al, 2015b). Lough et al (2015a) offered the first insights in to personal space regulation in WS and ASD, using the same methods employed by Kennedy and Adolphs (2014). They found that individuals with WS were reported by their parents to show the least awareness of personal space boundaries, when compared to reports from parents of individuals with ASD and TD individuals.…”